Engine-starter.



PATENTED JULY 7, 1908.

G. L. ODENBR ETT. ENGINE STARTER. APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 5,1907.

Uivrrirn s rairns n rns r 01mins.

ENGINE-STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 5, 1907; Serial No. 396,105.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. ODEX- I BRETT,'I8Sl(llI1g in Milwaukee, inthe county of Milwaukee and State of 'isconsin, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Enginefitarters, of which the following is adescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which area part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to provide automatic means forstarting multi lc cylinder gas engines and the like, especia ly whenused for automobile purposes, and comprises a selecting valve driven bythe engine for establishing communication between a source of chargesupply under pressure and that cylinder of the engine in which thepiston is in proper position to receive an explosion, whereby anexplosion may be produced in said cylinder by starting the ignitingmechanism and thus the engine is started without the necessity forturning the crank shaft by hand.

A further object of the invention is to improve upon details ofconstruction of such engine starting devices. I

WVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in theengine starter herein claimed, its parts and combinations of parts andall equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawing in which like characters ofreference indicate the same parts in the different views, Figure l is alan view of an engine starter constructet in accordance with thisinvention and mounted on an automobile frame; and; Fig. 2 is adetail'sectional view of the select-- ing valve thereof, the pipeconnections hav ving a somewhat different arrangement than as shown inFig. 1, for clearness of illustration. i

In these drawings, A, A re resent a multiple cylinder'engine, as hereshown there being four cylinders in all, arranged vertically at thefront or boot of the automobile frame as usual, and B and C areacetylene or, other gas and air reservoirs respectively, secured to thesides of the automobile frame, D being a charging tank in any desirablelocation and likewise secured to the frame. A series of three handvalves E, E and E are provided within convenient reach of the driver,preferably on the dash 1' board, The valve E controls communicationbetween a pipe F leading from the gas tank B and a pipe F leading to thecharging tank I). The valve E controls communication between a pipe Gleading from the air reservoir and a pi e G leading to the charging tankD. T e l valve E controls communicationbetween a pipe H leading from thecharging tank D and a pipe H leading to a selecting valve I which isdesirably secured at the front part of the automobile frame as shown.The selecting valve I has pipes J J'-, J and J leading therefrom atdifferent positions on its diskshaped head to the explosion chambers ofthe respective cylinders of the engine, these K K and K2 arranged toprevent. a flow selecting valve. The pressure gage L which is alsodesirabl located on the dash-board and which w'l indicate to the driverthe degree of ressure contained within the charging tank The crank-shaftM of the engine has a pinion N thereon which is geared to a sprocketwheel 0 by means of a chain P, said sprocket wheel 0 being mounted on ashaft Q which is j ournalcd in the casing of the selecting valve I witha disk-shaped valve member R rigidl but adjustably secured thereon. Thedis valve R is thus rotated by the engine at a s eed which will cause itto make one revolution with each two revolutions of the crankshaft, thepinion X and the sprocket 0 being so proportioned, and serves to controlcommuuicat-ion between the pipe H, which connects with the space on oneside thereof, and the pipes J, J'-, J and J 5. which connect with thecasing on the other side thereof, by means of an elongated opening Stherein being pipes in si'lccession. The disk valve R is so positionedon the shaft Q that the opening S will always register with that pipewhich leads to the engine cylinder in wluch the piston is in position toreceive an explosion; and the fit of the disk valve within the casing isullicicntly close to preventcoiumunica-tion betwecu the pipe ll and anyof the pipes with which the opening S is not in register.

In operation, when thc'cngiuc has been standing idle for some time. asupon starting out in the morning, or whenever it is impossible to startits operation by the igniting of a charge stored in the pro )crcylinder. the usual cranking is dispensed with by this invention and itis started by first opening valve E to allow acetylene or other gasstored in reservoir P) topass to the charging tank 1 Patented July 7,1908.

j pipes being provided with check valves'K therethrough from the cylinrer toward the ipe H contains a brought into register with the mouths ofthese until a desired pressure in the charging tank is indicated bv thepressure gage L, the other valves E and E being closed. E is opened topermit the gas in the charging tank D travel through the pipes H and H.to the se lecting valve I where it will pass through one of the pipes JJ J or J according to the position of the opening S in the disk valve R,to that cylinder whose piston is in position to receive an explosion,and then by starting the igniting mechanism, the gas will be exploded assoon as it forms a pro or mixture with the air found by it in the cyinder, thus starting the engine in its operation. If the engine .doesnot start on admitting the gas alone, valve E is left open and valve Eis opened to admit compressed air to the charging tank I), which drivesthe gas ahead of it into the proper cylinder, and when forming the proer mixture therewith in the cylinder the exp osion will take place tostart the engine.

Ordinarily it will not be necessary to use the compressed air instarting, as the cylinder of the engine with which connection is made bythe selecting valve I will naturally contain a quantity of air and itwill be found sufiicient to merelyadmit the acetylene gas by openingvalves E and E", and relying upon the gas so admitted mixing with theair in such cylinder, the igniting mechanism in the meantime being in oeration so that when the prop er mixture is ormed the explosion willtake place. Thus the air reservoir v and charging tank with other partsmay be dispensed with if desired,-but they are prefer ably employed inthe manner stated. With multi le cylinder engines having six or morecylinc are, so that there is no dead center, the compressed'air only maybe employed. It

' then is delivered to the proper cylinder by means of the selectingvalve and alone. acts upon the piston with the pressure in reservoir 0and serves to operate the engine as an air motor until the engine is incondition to be operated by an explosive charge. It is thereforepossible to employ the air reservoir without the gas reservoir andcharging tank, but as beforestatedthe combination of these is referred.

y means of this invention the inconvenience of starting the engine by ahand crank is entirely avoided and the selecting valve serves toautomatically admit the starting charge or the'air pressure to the proer cylinder. The check valves in the pipes eading to r the cylindersprevent back pressure from the cylinders finding its Way to theselecting valve and the starting system remains in operative conditionat all times.

What I claim as new ahd desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A starter for multiple cylinder engines, comprisin a selecting valvedriven by the engine an adapted to establish communication with therespective cylinders of the engine when their pistons are in position toreceive an explosion, a charging chamber conirnunicating with theselecting valve, an air reservoir and a gas reservoir communicating withthe charging chamber, and controlling valves in the connections betweenthe charging chamber and the air reservoir and the gas reservoir and theselecting valve respectively.

2. A starter for multiple cylinder engines comprisin a selecting valvedriven by the engine an adapted to establish communica tion with therespective cylinders of the en gine when their pistons are in positionto re= ceive an explosion, a charging chamber com- ,municating with theselecting valve, an air reservoir and a gas reservoir communicatingwiththe charging chamber, hand controlled valves in the connectionsbetween the charging chamber and the selecting valve and the airreservoir and the gas reservoir respectively, a pressure gage connectedwith the charging chamber, and check valves in the communicationsbetween the'selecting valve and the cylinders of the engine.

3. In combination with a multiple cylinder automobile engine, aselecting valve driven by the engine and adapted to establishcommunication with the respective cylinders thereof when their pistonsare in position to receive an explosion, a charging chamber, a pi econnection including a hand controlled valve and a ressure gage betweenthe charging cham er and the selecting valve, air and gas reservoirs,and ipe connections between said reservoirs and the charging chambereach containin; a; hand controlled valve, said hand control ed valvesand pressure gage being grouped to ether in a position Where they willbe'easi y accessible to the driver. In testimony whereof, I affix mysignature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE L. ODENBREIT.

